Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cot ' respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , no necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of THE F REEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It is much to be regretted that you havo not thought proper to imitate the prudent reticence of your contemporary , the Freemason , in refusing publication to highly coloured e . v parte statements , in reference to recent occurrences in this Instition .

The circnlar I issued on receipt of Bro . Tew ' s extraordinary " report" was not a " reply , " as it is termed by tho Head Master , with his accustomed accuracy . In that circular will be found tho following passage : " I simply now , in the interests of the Institution , and in my own name , and on behalf of others , beg you to suspend your judgment , until a reply can be given to the ex parte statements

to which your attention has been drawn . " Of this circular I forwarded you a copy , and though it contained nothing of a controversial character , you declined to publish it . On the other hand , your contemporary , regarding it merely as an appeal , " audi alteram partem , " inserted it . Is it consistent with common fairness to give publicity to renewed

gross accusations against Commi tee and officials pending the issue of a reply to the charges alleged in Bro . Tew ' s " Report P " Is it justifiable to throw the weight of your editorial opinion into tho scale , as yon have evidently done in the leading article in your last number , " The Retiring Masters of the Boys' School , " founding that opinion on a letter signed by them , which they ought to be

ashamed of having written , so utterly at variance with truth are some , and so preposterously absurb are other , of the statements therein contained ? I admit that you say , " We have no intention whatever of passing judgment on the contents of these documants , " but no one can fail to detect the bias throughout the article .

I contend that it is manifestly wrong to encourage young men , in the position of the " retiring Masters , " to air their fancied grievances in the columns of a newspaper ; that it is utterly subversive of discipline , and most mischievous in every respect . Supposing their grievances to have an established foundation , the proper tribunal before which they should be brought is the governing body of the

Institution . To that tribunal they did appeal , and anything more ridiculous than their appearance—anything more contemptible than the evidence ( it is a burlesque of terms to use the word ) they adducod in Bupport of their grave charges was never witnessed or listened to . Before a decision could bo given , they sent in their resignations . Why ? They knew , within themselves , there could be but one result .

They say , through Mr . Perrott , " because they were not satisfied with the way in which their evidence was received ; " in their own names , they say , we left the room thoroughly dissatisfied with their ( the Committee ' s ) proceedings . " Doubtless they wero " dissatisfied , " on perceiving that the Committee , with every desire to bo impartial , detected at once the animus by which they wero actuated , and the

weakness of the trumpery testimony by which they sought to bolster up their case . They ask , " What is to be said of tho Secretary who makes a scries of charges against the School which it is his duty to serve and guard , charges which he cannot prove , but which , if true , ate calculated to drive away every subscriber from tho Charity , and who chooses the

time just before tho Annual Festival for such action ? " The rich vein of insolent pomposity displayed in this question , and it pervades tho whole of tho lettor under consideration , is most amusing—but what are the facts ? " The Secretary" not only has not brought " a series of charges , " but has not made any charge against tho School , which he is solemnly warned "it is his duty

to serve and guard . I had for sonic time noticed a change in the demeanonr of the boys . I had noticed many departures for the worse from former habits and conduct . I was painfully aware of the increased destruction of books , & c . and of clothing , and had expressed my opinion ou those matters in the proper quarter , as , with all deference to the collective wisdom of " the four , " I contend I was

perfectly at liberty to do . Tolerably accurately gauging the real condition of affairs , I was not altogether surprised , though much mortified , at rccoiving representations from residents in the neighbourhood of the misconduct of our pupils . The words which , with so much pertinacious perversit y , I am charged with using , were not my words , but were quoted b )/ me

in a letter to the ( then ) Head Master , as the description given by a gentleman who had called npon me , and I informed him that it would be my duty to submit the representations I had received to the next meeting of the Committee , together with any statement or explanation he might be disposed to favour me With . So much for this accusation . " The Secretary made similar charges last year . " Every one is

familiar with the word which expresses the opposite of truth . The Secretary made no such charge . A charge of specific misconduct was made by a member of the Committee ; but the witnesses were difficult of access , and it was deemed better not to commence an investigation , unless the proofs of misconduct could be adduced . I was , myself , most

anxious for enquiry , but it was decided otherwise . It is idle to pursue the subject further . The familiarity displayed by " the four " with occurrences which took place long antecedent t . o their appointment affords prima facie evidence of a concocted plan of operation between the ( fortunately ) lato Head Master and his assistants . This has exhibited itself in a systematic attack npon

Correspondence.

the Secretary and the Matron . " Throw mud enough , and some will be sure to stick" has been their rule . This is exemplified in a second pamphlet , addressed to the " Yorkshire Vice-Presidents , " presumably under the same auspices as the first . In this appear , set out in full , the whole of the allegations against the Matron . If they are thought worthy of serious consideration—disproved as they most of them have

been—and more or less satisfactorily accounted for , as others have been—there is no difficulty whatever in giving answers to them seriatim . Shonld this be demanded and conceded , matters will assume a very different complexion from that under which they have been presented by presumptuous subordinates , coached up by an unscrupulous superior , in a histoiy of events of which they could havo no personal

knowledge . On the Report of the Examiner , I shall only observe that there has been a breach of trust somewhere . A copy was sent to me a few days ago by Mr . Finlaison , in compliance with official instructions to the Secretary of the Syndicate . That Report is the property of the

Committee , who alone can order its disposition . It has not yot been presented to the Committee . It is issued on the distinct condition"If this Report is published , it must bo givon in extenso . " Spite of this , I read extracts from it in your columns , and " tho four " also quote from it . Tho customary clever tactics—the usual questionable morale .

On the evidence afforded in the Report as to the educational condition of the School , I shall offer no remarks , because it is a document not yet fairly in court . On discipline and conduct , I shall merely observe generally that the demeanour of boys before an examiner for three days , or before a company assembled on an occasion such as the distribution of prizes , affords no test of general behaviour .

What I have witnessed I believe in . Whatever defects there may be , I do not blame , or in any way censure , those whom I have always regarded as my young friends , and for whom I have laboured cheerfully . Spero meliora . Before this can appear in your columns , my " reply " to Bro . Tew and the lato Head Master will be before the public , who will form

their own conclusions on tho various points at issue . Unfortunately , fresh matter suggests itsolf , and I could amplify my statements almost indefinitely , supporting them with irrefragable testimony . Mr . Perrott ' s circular , of 25 th June , shall have due notice , and his " crucial" questions shall bo " crucially" answered . We shall see what is the value of the "veracity , " with reference to which he

" dare not be silent . " As regards " self-commendation " and " scurrility , " I have found our late Head Master so perfect an adept in the ouo , and so inflated by the other , that I am content to loave him in the full enjoyment of both . I shall conclude , deeply rogrettiug the painful necessity of thus

being compelled to vindicate my conduct , after fonvteen years of faithful service , with a protest against the " ill-weaved ambition " which prompted the lato Head Master to boast of " having the honour to preside over the Institution , " which at ouco affords an insight into his character , and a clue to the sad chapter of our history in which he has figured so prominently .

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours faithfully and fraternally , FREDERICK BINCKES . London , 19 th July 1875 .

Report Of Lodge Meetings.

REPORT OF LODGE MEETINGS .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Having just returned from the Continent , I tako the first opportunity of thanking Bro . Magnus Ohren for correcting my letter that appeared in No . 26 of THE CHRONICLE-. I being dull of heariug led to the mistake , which I regret . Yours fraternally , M . M . M .

Our Freemasonry.—Sir C. Wren, &C.

OUR FREEMASONRY . —SIR C . WREN , & c .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It will , I suppose , bo useless to refer our redoubtable Bro . Buchan to my "Speculative Freemasonry " ( page 110 ) , where ho will find a quotation from Aubrey ' s Natural History of Wiltshire ( page 277 ) . "This day , May the 18 th , being Monday , 1 G 91 , after Rogation Sunday , is a great Convention at

St . Paul's Church , of the Fraternity of Adopted Masons , whon Sir C . Wren is to be adopted a brother , and Sir Henry Gooderic of the Tower , and divers othci-s . " This is the sole minute , yet known to be preserved , of Sir C . Wren ' s initiation ; but this , coupled with tho undoubted fact that the 1717 Masons always acknowledged him as a brother , seems to bo authorifcivo evidence of his actual initiation .

Whilst writing to Bro . Baohan upon this subject , I may call his attention to another confirmation of the Rosicrncian part of my Masonic work and theory , which was so jauntily handled by your airy critic , first in the review of my work itself , and , secondly , iu a notice of this part by a pamphlet issued by the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Masonry , with which I have

the honour and pleasure to be connected . At page 113 I gave an extract , furnished to me by Bro . M . Cooke , from a llosicracian work printed in 1722 , and dedicated to the Grand Lodge , 1 st March 1721 ; a copy of this book now forms a part of the coutents of the fino library of that worthy brother , Capt . F . G . Irwin , and is entitled

"Long Livers , " by Engcuins Philalothes , 1722 . Bro . Irwiu has kindly collated the extract for me , and states that it is acenrat ^ . Having ceased advising and remembering Craftsmen of many things , ho commences a new paragraph thus : " And now my brethren , you of the higher class , permit me to add a few words for you are but few ,